The Four Books

by Gardner, Daniel K.

• ISBN13: 9780872208261
• ISBN10: 0872208265
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-03-01
• Publisher: Hackett Pub Co Inc

Summary

This compact volume shows how the Four Books -- the Greater Learning, the Analects, the Mencius, and the Doctrine of the Mean -- have been read and understood by the Chinese since the twelfth century. Included are selected passages in translation, accompanied by Daniel Gardner's comments and the selected commentary of Zhu Xi (1130-1200), the renowned Neo-Confucian thinker. The book provides an introduction to the later imperial Confucian tradition; introduces the reader to Zhu Xi's commentarial understanding of the Four Books; suggests how Neo-Confucians, like Zhu Xi, through commentary, gave coherence and meaning to the Four Books collectively; and illustrates the nature of the standard educational curriculum.

Table of Contents

Introduction : the four books in Chinese society
The Great learning	p. 3
The Analects	p. 11
The Mencius	p. 53
Maintaining perfect balance	p. 107
Conclusion : interpreting the Four Books	p. 131
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